We are having THE heat wave of 2025 here in Portland. Over 100 degrees, and 90+ degrees for nearly a week straight. Luckily, the heaviest portion is coming on the weekend, which means we get to choose how to hide, how to cope, or how to lean in.
These are my Heat Wave Vibes for 2025:
For languishing poolside
La Piscine (1962)
This has been, mostly unintentionally, my year of Alain Delon. First it was Rocco and His Brothers, a melodrama about a family falling apart in the poverty of post-war Milan. Then it was Il Gattopardo, a 1963 film about a war and transfer of power during the Unification of Italy. Then, it was Purple Noon, the first film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley (I have now seen most, if not all, of the Ripley film adaptations, and they would all make great heat wave cinema). This week, it was La Piscine, which is a relationship/love-triangle (love-square?) drama set in the modern day (late 60’s) French Riviera. It is wonderfully slow and methodical, lingering around a summer home with a pool, the camera having continuous staring contests with its beautiful actors. It is sexy, it is daring, it is wonderful.
Mac Demarco - Guitar (2025)
Brand new this Friday is a record from the prolific indie/slack rocker Mac Demarco, a record that was both written and recorded in just 12 days. It is bare-bones, focused music that enjoys taking its time, and that employs wonderful major-to-minor-to-major chord progressions that allow you to sink in, to be surprised, and to then find resolution. This is great contemplative porch-sitting rock.
For turning up the heat
Full Contact (1992)
The wonderful Josh Lewis, of the wonderful SLEAZOIDS podcast, wrote a great review of a movie I had never seen before: Full Contact. The review was so tantalizing, mostly in simply describing the action of the movie, that I rushed out to Movie Madness to get my hands on a copy. The word must have been out already, because when I got there, it had already been rented. So two days later, I successfully tried again, and was treated to a massive, sexy, thrilling crime/revenge/action/drama starring the magnificent Chow Yun Fat that completely blew me away. If you have ever been a fan of Hong Kong crime/action/kung-fu cinema, or of any genre with a tint of sleaze on it, you have got to see this one.
Deftones - private music (2025)
I have a real soft spot for the Deftones, who have been making metal music tinged with sweetness for basically my entire life. Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) has been one of my favorite songs since I first heard it 25 years ago, and their new record, also out yesterday, is filled with that dark, metallic sweetness. I think it fits an intense heat wave beautifully.
Pendulum - Inertia (2025)
Another band that I have been listening to for ages, and who haven’t aged a bit, is Pendulum. I used to listen to their music exclusively when I went for 20-mile bike rides at midnight on the country roads of DeKalb County (Illinois), so that is the energy this band is giving. High BPM, high HR dance/club/EDM. If you need a shot of adrenaline during the heat’s oppression, try digging into this.
For hiding away behind my blackout curtains
Solvej Balle - On the Calculation of Volume (2024)
My favorite recent fiction discovery is simply: books translated to English from other languages. I have mostly read Japanese works, but a novel from Danish writer Solvej Balle, On the Calculation of Volume, is my current captivation. It is part one of a seven part series (!!!) that is a Groundhog Day story, full-stop. The distance that translation provides really lends itself to the eeriness and unfathomability of being stuck in a time-loop, which the central character is. Only two parts have been translated so far, with the third coming this November, so now is a perfect time to get stuck in the loop together.
Alien: Earth (2025)
I am only through two episodes, but this is one of the most faithful-to-the-original continuations of a film I have ever seen. The set and production design are the best in television, bar none. The show is gross, horrifying, and a real intellectual puzzle that I am loving.
Thanks, as always, for reading. I hope you keep finding simple pleasures and available escapes from the heat of the sun and the heat of current events. Sometimes we just need to hide away from the world, and we should do so without shame this weekend (and next [and next]).
What are you hiding away with?
TTFN,
bobby